Strip coiling apparatus



Oct. 17, 1950 E, H, EDSTRQM 2,526,010

STRIP 001mm; APPARATUS Filed Aug. 25, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Eric H. Edstrom A Horney Oct. 17, 1950 E. H. EDSTROM STRIP comm; APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 23, 1947 INVENTOR.

Eric H. Edafr om Attorney Patented Oct. 17, 1950 s'rmr comma APPARATUS Eric H. Edstrom, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to United Engineering & Foundry Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application August 23, 1947, Serial No. 770,245

13 Claims. (Cl. 24278) This invention relates to apparatus for wrapping upon a driven reel the leading end of strip at the speed of and as it is delivered from a, hot or cold mill, pickling or plating line or other strip processing apparatus.

A common practice in strip wrapping makes use of an endless belt which substantially encircles the winding reel and frictionally holds the strip in contact with the reel while the first few coils are wound. The belt then is removed to allow the rest of the strip to be wound. Usually the belt is carried by rollers, someof which are borne by pivotally mounted arms, and apparatus is provided to swing the arms upwardly and rearwardly from the reel to permit the removal of the belt. One difliculty with this apparatus is that it requires a large operating space, particularly requiring excessive room for the pivoting of the arms and belt. Further, the drive mechanism for pivoting the arms is complex, expensive and easily thrown out of order. Also the apparatus is limited as to the gauge of the strip which it will wrap, since thicker gauge strip tends to quickly fray and cut the belt and heavy gauge strip is too stifi to be bent properly around a reel.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a strip metal wrapping apparatus which requires relatively little operating space, which may be simply and sturdily built, and which may be used efliciently to wrap strip of heavy as well as light gauges.

In accordance with the invention, a carriage is provided which is movable to and from a stripwrapping position and which includes a frame and a roller supporting member movably borne by the frame. Both the frame and the roller support carry a series of rollers each arranged in arcuate form to guide the strip and hold it in contact with the reel. In strip-wrapping, or operative, position of the carriage these two series he in arcuate sequence and extend substant'ally around the reel. The apparatus is provided with power. mechanism for so moving the rol1ersup porting member that the carriage can be moved to and from strip-wrapping position. 4

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings of which Figs. 1 and 2 are side and plan views. respectively, of one form of the invention; Fig. 1a is a partial side view and Fig. 3 is an end view of the same form showing the from series of rollers retracted to free the carriage; Fig. 4 is an enlarged section along lne s IV-IV of Fig. 1; and Figs. 5 and 6 are side viewsiof two alternate forms of the invention.

Referring to the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the strip-wrapping elements of the apparatus are borne by a carriage l which is movable to and from strip-wrapping position in a track 2. The carriage consists of a frame 3 which is formed of a platform 4, side walls 6 and 1 and an end wall 8, the side edges of the platform being formed to ride in the track. The carriage is moved by air pressure acting on a piston Scarried in an air cylinder I I mounted below the platform. The lower rear portion of the carriage is provided with a bracket l2 which is plvotally connected to the piston by pivot rod A feature of the invention is that in place of the common endless belt, rollers M are used to wrap the strip. A strip I6 is shown in Fig. 1 as being delivered from a rolling mill which includes work and backup rolls IT and IS, the strip being wrapped on a reel l 9 which is driven by any suitable means. For purposes which will become apparent, rollers 14 are divided into three separate series 2|, 22 and 23, which, when the apparatus is in strip-wrapping position, lie in an arcuate sequence around and in contact with the face of the reel or of the strip wrapped upon it.

The uppermost series 2| is mounted in a pivoted member 24 formed of a lever arm 25 the forward portion of which is bifurcated into a pair of side plates 26 and 21. The front portions of the side plates are connected to each other by a guide plate 29 which aids in projecting the strip between rollers 2| and reel l9. Member 24 is carried in frame 3 on a pivot rod 3| which extends transversely between the frames side walls 6 and 1. The rollers of series 2|, extending completely across the space between and supported by the bifurcated plates 26 and 21 are driven by an electrical motor 21a secured to the upper edges of side plates 26 and 21 and, as shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3, the driving connection between motor 2: and rollers 2i consists of a sprocket 2 lb secured to the motor shaft over which a continuous chain 2: passes from a second sprocket 2|d to the shaft of which is also secured a gear 2le which meshes withidler gears 2lf rotatably secured to the frame and which mesh with and drive gears 2 lg of rollers 2i.

. The principal purpose of having a pivoted member 24 is to provide a, resilient or yieldable support for these upper rollers so that the rollers can be pressed outwardly as strip-wrapping proceeds. To make the rollers resilient, itis Dreferred to support the. rearward end of arm 25 on a plate 36 which is urged upwardly by a coil spring 31 so as to spring press the rollers into contact with the reel. The spring has a supporting rod 38 which extends through a transverse channel 39 secured to the side walls of the carriage frame. Pressure of the strip on the rollers will swing member 24 and compress spring 31. Although this resilient means is preferred, other ways of spring pressing the rollers are possible and are within the contemplation of the invention.

The middle series 22 of the rollers are mounted in an arcuate portion of side plates 6 and l of the carriage frame. As seen from the drawings they are arranged in contact with the reel in an arc of a cylinder of the same radius as the reel, the series being formed of pairs of rollers which are rotatably mounted in the frames side walls 6 and 1 and which include pairs of rollers mounted in each side plate, each pair having an outer and an inner roller 32 and 33 respectively carried by a pivot pin 34. The rollers are mounted so as to extend below the lower edge of side plates 6 and l and engage an arc of the reel. Since these rollers are yieldably pressed against the reel by air pressure in an air cylinder l i it is unnecessary to provide any special spring mounting for them.

The series 23 of the rollers are mounted in a roller-carrying support it! which is movably borne by the carriage frame so that it can be moved free of the reel to permit movement of the carriage. As most clearly shown in Fig. 4, support 40 is formed of an arcuate rear Wall 62 and inwardly extending roller-carrying yoke arms dial and 44. A series of roller-carrying rods 48 are mounted in the arms, each of which carries three idle rollers. In their strip-Wrapping position, the rollers contact and are spring pressed against the reel. As shown in Fig. a, roller carrying yoke arms 43 and 44 are secured to an arcuate plate 41 which is connected detachably to rear wall 52 by means of pin and socket members, plate Ml normally being pressed away from wall 42 by springs i.

Roller-carrying support M is provided exteriorly with a rack 52 which is engaged by a pinion 53 that meshes with a worm gear 541 mounted on a drive shaft 58 driven by a motor 571 which is secured to the carriage platform. Member id is adapted to be slid in an arcuate path in a track 59, Fig; 4, provided in the frame. The track is formed from a pair of arcuate plates at which are secured to the inner surfaces of the frames side walls 6 and J and which are provided with track forming recesses. When support Ml is fully slid into the track, its rollers are brought into arcuate registry with the rollers of series 22 which are carried by the frame. In this position, the carriage is freed from engagement with the reel and can be moved away from it.

The operation of the apparatus should be reasonably obvious. The carriage is moved into strip-wrapping position by air pressure acting in cylinder Ii, during which movement roller-carrying support is retracted into the frame. After driven roller series 2i and idler roller series 22 are in contact with the reel, motor Bl is operated to slide support 43 out of its track and operatively position its series of rollers around the reel. Metal strip then is fed between the rollers and the reel and is thereby wound on the reel. By reason of roller series 2| being driven, the leading end of the strip is positively forced around the reel. After a few turns are wound, it is desirable to move the carriage away from the reel to permit the remainder of the strip to be wrapped. This is accomplished by reversing motor 51 to slide support 40 back into its track.

Such sliding of the support is permissible since its rollers are rotating with the strip and the sliding merely increases the speed of rotation of its rollers. With support 40 fully retracted, the carriage can be moved away in the obvious manner.

Alternate forms of the invention are illus trated in Figs. 5 and 6. The form shown in Fig. is similar to that of Fig. 1 in that movement of the carriage is permitted by sliding its rollercarrying support 40a into a track 59 in the carriage frame. The principal difference is that, in place of the motor-driven gear and pinion of the Fig. 1 form, support 40a in Fig. 5 is moved by a piston El which acts in an air cylinder 62 and which is connected mechanically by a piston rod 63 to linked arms 64 pivotally connected to a rod 66 carried by a pair of supporting plates 61 secured to member 4011. When pressure is applied to retract the piston, member 40a is slid into track 59 in the manner previously'described with reference to the embodiment of Figs. 2 and 3. Although no driving means is shown for the rollers of this embodiment, it is obvious that any number or all of them may be driven if desired, by means, such as are shown, for example, in the drawings Fig. 1 or Fig. 6.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 6, roller-carrying member 401) is swung, instead of being slid, to and from its wrapping position. The pressure mechanism is an air cylinder H in which a piston 12 reciprocates. The roller-carrying member 402) is in the form of a rigid bell crank lever which is connected pivotally at one end to the end of a piston rod 13, and is pivoted on a transverse rod 14 which is mounted in the side walls of the frame. In operation, when pressure is applied to retract piston E2, the outer or roller-carrying portion of the lever is swung from its strip-wrapping position to the carriage-liberating position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6. As will be apparent, in this form of the invention resilient mounting for the rollers 15 is unnecessary. The rollers 15, to the shafts of which gears 16 are secured, are driven by means of an electrical motor 17, mounted on a bracket 78 secured to the frames side plate, through a chain gear drive. The chain gear drive consists of a sprocket 19, secured to the shaft of the motor 11, with a continuous chain 8i passing therefrom to a triple sprocket 82 rotatably secured to the frames side plate and having on the axis thereof agear 83 meshing with two of the gears 76 of two of the rollers 15, and from which triple sprocket, chains 84 pass to double sprockets 85 having supported on the axes thereof gears 86 which mesh with and drive gears 16 of additional rollers 15. Thus, by providing a series of chains, double sprockets and gears as shown in Figure 6, all of the rollers with the exception of idler roller 81, over which the leading end of the strip to be coiled passes on its entry to the throat of the coiling device and the roller 81a adjacent to the transverse rod 14, are positively driven.

The invention provides apparatus which is efficient both in construction and operation. An important advantage is that the use of members which pivot in a substantial vertical arcuate path is avoided so that relatively little space is required between the reel and mill. Also, since the rollers act positively and inflexibly upon the strip, the apparatus can be used to wrap metal strip of thicker gauges than can be wrapped by flexible belt wrappers.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and construction of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for wrapping upon a driven reel the leading end of strip metal at the speed of and as it is delivered from strip processing apparatus comprising a carriage having a frame and a roller-carrying support movably borne by said frame, said frame and support each being pro-, vided with a series of rollers that lie in an arc of a cylinder of substantially the same radius as that of said reel, power mechanism for moving said carriage to and from a strip-wrapping position, the rollers on said frame adapted to remain adjacent to and in working pressure relationship with said reel while said carriage is in the strip wrapping position, and mechanism for moving said support in one direction to position the series of rollers thereof in arcuate sequence with the series borne by said frame when said carriage is in strip-wrapping position and for moving said support in another direction to p-rmit said carriage and frame borne rollers to be moved from said reel after the leading end of a strip has been wrapped on the periphery thereof by said two series of rollers.

2. Apparatus for wrapping upon a driven reel the leading end of strip metal at the speed of and as it is delivered from strip processing apparatus comprising a frame, a roller carrying support movably borne by the frame, said frame and support each being provided with a series of rollers that lie in an arc of a cylinder of substantially the same radius as that of said reel, means for rotating at least a portion of said series of rollers, power mechanism for moving said carriage to and from a strip-wrapping position, and power mechanism for moving said support in one direction to position the series of rollers thereof in arcuate sequence with the series borne by said frame when said carriage is in strip-wrapping position and for moving said support in another direction to permit said carriage to be moved from the reel after the leading end of a strip has been wrapped on the periphery of said reel by said two series of rollers.

3. Apparatus for wrapping upon a driven reel the leading end of strip metal at the speed of and as it is delivered from strip processing apparatus comprising a carriage having a frame and a roller-carrying support movably borne by the frame, said frame and support each being provided with a series of rollers that lie in an arc of a cylinder of substantially the same radius as that of said reel, power mechanism for moving said carriage to and from a strip-wrapping position, the rollers on said frame adapted to remain adjacent to and in working pressure relationship with said reel while said carriage is in the strip wrapping position, and power mechanism for moving said support in one direction to position the series of rollers thereof in arcuate sequence with the series borne by said frame when the carriage is in strip-wrapping position and for moving said support in another direction to permit said carriage and frame borne rollers to be moved from said reel after the leading end of a strip has been wrapped on the periphery thereof by said two series of rollers, said series of rollers being yieldingly pressed into contact with said I reel when in the strip-wrapping position.

4. Apparatus for wrapping upon a driven reel the leading end of strip metal at the speed of and as it is delivered from strip processing apparatus comprising a carriage having a frame and a roller-carrying support movably borne by the frame, said frame and support each being provided with a series of rollers that lie in an arc of a cylinder of substantially the same radius as that of said reel, means for rotating at least a portion of said series of rollers, power mechanism for moving said carriage to and from a stripwrapping position, and power mechanism for moving said support to permit said carriage to be moved from said reel after the leading end of a strip has been wrapped on the periphery thereof by said two series of rollers, said series of rollers being yieldingly pressed into contact with said reel when in the strip-wrapping position.

5. Apparatus for wrapping upon a driven reel the leading end of strip metal at the speed of and as it is delivered from strip processing apparatus comprising a carriage having a frame, an upper roller-carrying arm pivotally carried by the frame and a roller-carrying support movably borne by the frame, said arm, frame and support each being provided with a series of rollers that lie in an arc of a cylinder of substantially the same radius as that of said reel, resilient means urging the rollers of said arm into yieldable contact with said reel when said carriage is in stripwrapping position, power mechanism for moving said carriage to and from a strip-wrapping position, and power mechanism for moving said support in one direction to position the series of rollers thereof in arcuate sequence with said two series borne by said arm and framewhen said carriage is in strip-wrapping position and for moving said support in another direction to permit said carriage to be moved from said reel after the leading end of a strip has been wrapped on the periphery thereof by said three series of rollers.

6. Apparatus for wrapping upon a driven. reel the leading end of strip metal at the speed of and as it is delivered from strip processing apparatus comprising a carriage having a frame provided with an arcuate track, a roller-carrying support borne by said frame and slidable in said track, said frame and support each being provided with a series of rollers that continuously lie in an arc of a cylinder of substantially the same radius as that of the reel, mechanism for moving said carriage to and from a strip-wrapping position, power mechanism for sliding said support in one direction to position the series of rollers thereof in arcuate sequence with said series borne by said frame when said carriage is in strip-wrapping position and for sliding said support in the opposite direction to position the said series of rollers thereof in arcuate registry with said series of rollers borne by said frame and permit said carriage to be moved from said reel after the leading end of a strip has been wrapped on the periphery thereof by said two series of rollers.

'7. Apparatus for wrapping upon a driven. reel the leading end of strip metal at the speed of and as it is delivered from strip processing apparatus comprising a carriage having a frame provided with an arcuate track, a roller-carrying support slidable in said track and being provided with a peripheral rack, a pinion rotatably mounted in said frame and meshed with said rack, said frame and support each being provided with a series of rollers that continuously lie in an arc of a cylinder of substantially the same radius as that of the reel, power mechanism for moving said carriage to and from a strip-wrapping position, and power mechanism for driving said pinion to slide said support in one direction to position the series of rollers thereof in arcuate sequence with said series borne by said frame when said carriage is in strip-wrapping position and to slide said support in the opposite direction to position the series of rollers thereof in arcuate registry with said series of rollers borne by said frame and permit said carriage to be moved from said reel after the leading end of a strip has been wrapped on the periphery thereof by said two series of rollers.

8. Apparatus for wrapping upon a driven reel the leading end of strip metal at the speed of and as it is delivered from strip processing apparatus comprising a carriage having a frame provided with an arcuate track, an upper roller carrying arm pivotally carried by the frame, a roller-carrying support slidable in said track and being provided with a peripheral rack, a pinion rotatably mounted in said frame and meshed with said rack, said arm, frame and support each being provided with a series of rollers that continuously lie in an arc of a cylinder of substantially the same radius as that of said reel, resilient means urging the rollers of said arm and said support into yieldable contact with said reel when the apparatus is in strip-wrapping position, pressure mechanism for moving the carriage to and from a strip-wrapping position, and power mechanism for driving said pinion and sliding said support in one direction to position the series of rollers thereof in arcuate sequence with said two series borne by said arm and frame when said carriage is in strip-wrapping position and for sliding said support in the opposite direction to position the series of rollers thereof in arcuate registry with said series of rollers borne by said frame and permit said carriage to be moved from said reel after the leading end of a strip has been wrapped on the periphery thereof by said three series of rollers.

9. Apparatus for wrapping upon a driven reel the leading end of strip metal at the speed of and as it is delivered from strip processing apparatus comprising a carriage having a frame provided with an arcuate track, a roller-carrying support slidably carried in said track, linked arms a secured to said support and adapted when driven to slide the support in the track, said frame and support each being provided with a series of rollers that continuously lie in an arc of a cylinder of substantially the same radius as that of said reel, power mechanism for moving said carriage to and from a strip-wrapping position, and power mechanism for driving said linked arms and sliding said support in one direction to position the series of rollers thereof in arcuate sequence with said series borne by [said frame when said carriage is in strip-wrappingiposition and for sliding said support in the opposite direction to position the series of rollers thereof in arcuate registry with said series of rollers borne by said frame and permit said carriage to be removed from said reel after the leading end of a strip has been wrapped on the periphery thereof by said two series of rollers.

10. Apparatus for wrapping upon a driven reel the leading end of strip metal at the speed of and as it is delivered from strip processing apparatus comprising a carriage having a frame and a swinging member p-ivotally borne by the frame, said frame and member each being provided with a series of rollers that lie in an arc of a cylinder of substantially the same radius as that of said reel, power mechanism for moving said carriage to and from a strip-wrapping position, the rollers on said frame adapted to remain adjacent to and in working pressure relationship with said reel while said carriage is in the strip wrapping position, power mechanism for swinging said member in one direction to position the series of rollers thereof in arcuate sequence with said series borne by said frame when said carriage is in strip-wrapping position and for swinging said member in another direction to permit said carriage and frame borne rollers to be moved from said reel after the leading end of a strip has been wrapped on the periphery thereof by said two series of rollers.

11. Apparatus for wrapping upon a driven reel the leading end of strip metal at the speed of and as it is delivered from strip processing apparatus comprising a carriage having a frame and a swinging member pivotally borne by the frame, said frame and member each being provided with a series of rollers that lie in an arc of a cylinder of substantially the same radius as that of said reel, means for rotating at least a portion of said series of rollers, power mechanism for moving said carriage to and from a strip-wrapping position, power mechanism for swinging said member in one direction to position the series of rollers thereof in arcuate sequence with said series borne by said frame when said carriage is in stripwrapping position and for swinging said member in another direction to permit said carriage to be moved from said reel after the leading end of a strip has been wrapped on the periphery thereof by said two series of rollers.

12. Apparatus for wrapping upon a driven reel the leading end of strip metal at the speed of and as it is delivered from strip processing apparatus comprising a carriage having a frame, an upper lever arm and a swinging member both pivotally borne by the frame, said frame and arm each being provided with a series of rollers that lie in an arc of a cylinder of substantially the same radius as that of said reel, resilient means urging the rollers of said lever arm into yieldable contact with said reel when in the strip-wrapping position, pressure mechanism for moving said carriage to and from a strip-wrapping position and pressure mechanism for swinging said member in one direction to position the series of rollers thereof in arcuate sequence with said two series borne by said frame and said lever arm when said carriage isin strip-wrapping position and for swinging said member in another direction to permit said carriage to be moved from said reel after the leading end of a strip has been wrapped on the periphery thereof by said three series of rollers.

13. Apparatus for wrapping upon a driven reel the leading end of strip metal at the speed of and as it is delivered from strip processing apparatus comprising a carriage having a frame, an upper lever arm and a swinging member both borne by said frame, said frame and said arm each being provided with a series of rollers that lie in an arc of a cylinder of substantially the same radius as that of said reel, resilent means urging said rollers of said lever arm into yieldable contact with said reel when in the strip-wrapping position, means for rotating at least a portion of said series of rollers, pressure mechanism for moving said carriage to and from a strip-wrapping position and pressure mechanism for swinb 10 ing said member in one direction to position the REFERENCES CITED series of rollers thereof in arcuate sequence with The following references are of record in the said two series borne by said frame and said lever file of this patent: arm when said carriage is in strip wrapping position and for swinging said member in another 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS direction to permit said carriage to be moved Number Name Date from said reel after the leading end of a strip 1,141,771 Carpenter June 1, 1915 has been wrapped 0n the periphery thereof by 2,161,076 Morgan June 6, 1939 said three series of rollers. 2,207,832 Spellacy July 16, 1940 ERIC H. EDSTROM. 10 2,357,157 Wood 1 Aug. 29, 1944 

